A big thank you for all those who reviewed the prologue! It means a lot to me, having all your comments and critiques, especially since this is my first fic here. I hope that all who reviewed enjoyed the story and will continue to read it. So, thanks for the warm welcomes, I love you all! :3
CLARIFICATION PLEASE!
Ok, I have a couple of things to point out here. Firstly, about Sergie's "dreams". Except for the first one, they are events that occur in the RPG novel, Radical Dreamers, which could be called a sequel to Chrono Trigger, and the prequel to Chrono Cross. I like to call it filler, that sort of bridges the gap between the two games and gives players a small background to CC. In the beginning of the game, Serge, Kid, and a magician named Magil (I think he's supposed to be Guile or something - someone please clarify if you can) infiltrate Viper Manor to search for the Frozen Flame. It gives a different, and in my opinion, darker, approach to the CC world, as well as different perspectives of the characters (and rather enjoyable and humorous at times, might I add, like Serge's reactions to Kid's cherished possessions, lipstick and stuff ^__^).
Anyways, before I REALLY overdo the blabbing, any fans of the Chrono Series should go download an SNES emulator and the Radical Dreamers rom and translation. The rom can be found at cherryroms.com, but unfortunately, you have to sign up. You can also download a SNES emulator from there, and I recommend ZSNES. For a translation of Radical Dreamers, go to . You can find the patch up at the top, under the title, where it says download the English patch. If that link doesn't work, just search google (or any other search engine) for Radical Dreamers rom. You can usually find a patch somewhere there.
NOTICE!
Yes, I realize I've probably typed more of useless intro than the actual story..oh well...I have to say this! I am going to be away for at least a week, and so there won't be an update on this story for at least that long. I will continue writing it, but unfortunately, I won't have a computer with me so I won't be able to upload or type it up. Stay tuned though! When I get back your patience will be rewarded with at least TWO chapters at the least! I also may start posting my Escaflowne fanfic when I get back, but that all depends of on far I get in this story.
Abayo, I'll be back soon! :3
--TATSU
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With an Amulet
Chapter One: Death and Delusions
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"I'll kick your arses so hard, you'll kiss the moons!" Kid proclaimed before delivering a powerful kick to the guard's stomach. The goblin fell to the ground, twitching and groaning angrily. Kid stood up triumphantly.
"Hmph. That'll teach ya not to mess with the likes of us, ya'ugly bugger."
She gave it a sharp kick to the head and it lay as still as the night surrounding it, silent and deep. The darkness beckoned them onward, deeper into its shrouds. Serge put his hands out in front of him, hoping to find some sort of guide, but he was welcomed only by the cold, clammy air of the night. The moons loomed ominously above their heads, gleaming like two watchful eyes. They pierced into the thieves' minds, watching their work, knowing what they intended to do.
Magil paused before the gates of Viper Manor and turned to face the red thief, Kid. His mask shadowed his dark eyes, and his solemnly dark cape fluttered mysteriously on the air of the breezeless night. His braided hair hung down at his back, and his gloved hands clutched his staff comfortably.
"Kid," he whispered in the dark, sans expression as always. "Remember. We are here for The Artifact. You cannot allow your dealings with Master Lynx to distract you from our mission."
Serge heard an annoyed groan emanate from Kid's direction. She hung her head and let out a long sigh.
"I know. You've only been reminding me every ten seconds, ya know."
She kicked the dust at her feet and stared at the gleaming towers of the manor. They loomed above the intruders like inverted, black icicles of a frozen waterfall, so frighteningly sharp, with their powerful strength and might frozen in time. 'Don't ya worry, bastard, Kid'll be payin' ya a visit soon enough.'
She grinned maliciously.
~~~
Serge couldn't find his body. He felt as if he were suspended in the sea, the waves passing over his body like a thick, turbulent wind.
'Am I dreaming? Why am I seeing...these..." He couldn't find the word. He had no idea what was going on, let alone what these visions were. Dreams? Was he foreseeing the future? No, they were so familiar to him. He closed his nonexistent eyes and tried to think hard. "Tell me what they are! Please...what are they...these..."
"Memories," a soft feminine voice so simply stated. "Buried, deceased, and lost in the delusions of time."
Serge opened his lost eyes to waves of sable, lucent robes, brindled with stolen stars, and caught the figure of a woman centered among them. However, this vision was soon lost to his eyes, as a deep, dark wave of dreams washed over him once again...
~~~
Kid's excited expression turned to one of disappointment as she watched the Frozen Flame shatter to pieces. Magil's solemn eyes remained unchanged as he dusted the remaining fragments off his gloves. In a rare moment of their lives, Serge and Kid saw the mysterious magician smile.
"Hmm. Of course," he pondered, "I was sure that Master Lynx would not have left the true Artifact in the open. It would be much too simple. Even he can understand its value. Still, I was expecting some sort of--"
BREEP! BREEP! BREEP! Hidden emergency lights began flashing, bathing the treasure vault in a blood red light. Sirens shrieked like terrified and angry birds, informed about the presence of unwanted beings in their territories.
Magil continued, unchanged, still smiling.
"--alarm."
His smile soon faded however, when the sound of heavy footsteps and clinking iron chains reverberated off the walls of the chamber.
Magil's monotonous whisper could be heard over the sound of their oncoming capture, yet his form was nowhere to be seen.
"Quickly, hide."
Kid spotted a large pile of golden coins and dove in headfirst. She poked her head out and hissed at Serge, then pointed to a large, open chest at the opposite side of the chamber. Serge sprinted over and found, to his surprise, that it was empty, and dove in just in time, for three large goblins entered the treasure vault just as he shut the lid with a click.
The deep voice of a burly guard broke the silence of the hall.
"Well," it huffed, disappointed, "I guess it was just another false alarm."
Serge opened the lid of the chest a crack, and the rust and dust in its hinges allowed it to hold on its own. He peeked out the small crevice and saw three goblin-guards standing near the open entrance of the vault, the spiked balls of their iron maces clinking and swinging as a result of the sudden halting of their movements.
A harsh, shrill goblin squeaked in disagreement.
"The master's highly advanced system wouldn't just go off! It's much too sensitive and acute!"
"Perhaps it was a rat," suggested a third, cruel, slimy sounding goblin. "The cook has been complaining about them lately; running about the food and so forth...I'm sure he would like to...skin them alive perhaps...torture them.... cook them until their flesh bubbles...the blood boils...their eyes explode.... and serve them to us still alive, with the legs kicking and the tails whipping..." He smiled viciously and pretended he was twisting a living rat in his hands.
"Dun' you tell me that!", the squeaky goblin protested. "I gots'ta eat that food, y'know!"
The gruff goblin spoke up. "We all eat it, don't be so self--"
Their bickering was silenced by the sound of a few coins rolling across the floor. 'Shit!' Serge heard Kid curse in her head. A soft sound began to come from there...
"Squeak, squeak."
The goblins' heads all snapped towards the source of the noise. The cruel-sounding one raised his eyebrows and smiled cunningly.
"Actually, I recall hearing the cook complaining about..." he paused for effect. "...Cats."
As soon as the word had left his mouth, cat-like sounds seemed to support its presence in the vault.
"Meow...meow...puuuuurrrrrr....", then silence.
Serge put his head into his hands and groaned. 'She's just making it worse...Kid....'
The small goblin began to become excited, for he had just come up with a clever, cruel idea. He started jumping up and down, then squeaked suddenly...
"HECKRANS!!! No, it was heckrans he was in a fit about! That's it!"
The challenge was preceded by a deadly silence.
The large goblin nodded to his comrades and they began to approach the treasure mound cautiously. However, just as they were about to make their move, a strange shriek exploded from the treasure and reverberated off the walls of the vault, causing the guards to drop their weapons and shield their tattered and piercing-littered ears in agony...
"Heikkii!! Kekeikeikei!! Hekhekikiki.....HECKRAN!!!!!!!"
Immediately the guards pounced on the gold, digging through viciously and unrestrained, roaring and screaming in rage. Gold flew everywhere, thick, flashing fountains of it filling the air. It was as if it were a stampede in the desert, and the treasure was blinding, gold, plumes of dust, surrounding and concealing everything in its midst. The small goblin suddenly drew back shrieking, screaming, clutching his bloody hand in pain, and then, grasping his mace from the ground, he flared it around his head aimlessly. 'Get off me, bastards!!' Kid yelled in her head. 'I'll kill ya, I'll kill ya! Get offa me and I'll kill ya!!'
~~~
'Why can I hear her? Why can I hear her thoughts? Why can I hear Kid?!' The scene, the sounds, the voices, the blind rage all became dull and faded to Serge, as if mist were filling the chamber. Everything was shrouded in a deep, dark mist and Serge couldn't hear anything. He couldn't move. He watched Magil jump into the fray. He wanted to help, but his body was frozen, hovering above the commotion. The scene suddenly disappeared from his eyes, and he was once again suspended in a familiar black nothingness. Kid's voice entered his mind suddenly, and he could hear her thoughts during that battle, yet he still could not see her.
'I'll kill ya bastards, I'll kill ya!!'
'Kid, I hear you...'
'Die, taste death! Taste these daggers of mine, bastards!!'
'Kid, I hear your thoughts...'
'Lynx.... you will suffer as they have! You will taste my agony!!'
'Kid...why can I hear them?'
'Lynx! This is for Lucca!!'
'Kid! Why can I hear them?! Why can I hear you?!"
Serge grabbed his head in agony and opened his mouth to scream.
Silence. Deathly, silence.
He screamed with all his might, he screamed until he was out of breath. In his last attempt, screaming with everything, his body, his soul, he felt his lungs bleeding, he felt them tear at the seams and burst.
His body slumped to the ground with a soundless thump, blood pouring from his mouth.
He closed his eyes, opening them for only a second to receive his last glimpse of life. Kid lay beside him, dying, and Lynx stood over the both of them, blood staining his hand and the dagger he held in it.
They both closed their eyes to life and died.
Serge woke up.
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Thank you for reading! I'll see you all soon, and I'll be coming back with a double-or-more chapter feature! RRR! Remember, read + review!